


The C-Word

by akapolarbear



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Mentions of Cancer, Mentions of Death & Mortality, Questionable Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6664183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akapolarbear/pseuds/akapolarbear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max hadn't ever thought about death, not really, until her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. After noticing her emotional state, more than one person started suggesting that she reach out, speak to someone about how she felt.</p><p>She didn't know that "someone" would end up being a blue-haired punk she met outside the local community center.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This and Sailor's Delight are going to be running at the same time, with an alternating upload schedule. Meaning after a chapter of this, I'll start working on the next update of Sailor's Delight, and vice versa. I wasn't originally going to have two stories going at the same time, but neither of the ideas would leave me alone, so...more Pricefield for you guys!
> 
> Also, this might sound dumb, but I want to dedicate this to my late grandma, who fought and kicked cancer's ass. She's not with us anymore, but she was one of the strongest people I ever knew. She served as a lot of inspiration for this story, and I miss her like hell.

Max had never really considered the mortality of people. To be fair, she never had a reason to. She had never gone through a punk, goth, or emo phase in her growing years, and she had never had to deal with any death in her immediate family. That wasn’t to say she was naïve; she knew that death was a part of life and that it happened to everyone at some point. She just…never really had a reason to think about it.

Up until she was eighteen years old and her mother got breast cancer.

At the time she got the announcement, she had been away at boarding school in a completely different state. She wanted to drop her classes and go home, to be there for her parents, but her father swore up and down that her mother wanted nothing more for her to stay and get her education. If things progressed and got any worse, then they would inform her immediately and then she could fly out to Seattle, but for the time being, they wanted her to stay in school, and they would keep in touch every day with updates.

Yeah, because she was totally going to be able to focus in school while knowing her parents were suffering and her mom could very well end up dying.

It had been her chemistry teacher, Mrs. Grant to notice something was off when her grades started slipping. She pulled her aside after class one day, and while she said she didn’t want to pry, she did recommend talking to the school councilor if something was bothering her. Max could appreciate the fact that Mrs. Grant didn’t want to dig into her personal business, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure that she _could_ talk to someone. Just thinking about the C-word made her nauseous and lightheaded.

But then again, her parents had wanted her to stay in Oregon specifically so she _wouldn’t_ suffer any losses or failing grades in school. If talking to the councilor didn’t work out or didn’t make her feel any better, then she had no obligations to keep going, right? At the very least, it was worth a shot, if only so she didn’t feel like she was letting down her mom.

The councilor had been nice enough; he was a kindly older man with graying hair and old wire framed glasses and eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled. Max was sure that if she had just a problem with stress from too much homework or bullying, she would’ve been more than comfortable opening up to him. But she didn’t, and she wasn’t. Their meeting had gone slowly, almost completely because of Max’s unwillingness to say much. She felt like such an idiot; what was the point of going if she was just going to waste her and his time?

But he – Mr. Hall was his name – had been patient with her, asking her questions carefully, all while clarifying that she had no obligation to answer if she was uncomfortable or just didn’t want to. Max had been stubborn at first, answering in just one word sentences or nods and shakes of her head, if only because blurting out, _My mom’s in the hospital, and I should be there for her, but I can’t,_ was still just a little too difficult for her at this point.

However, something in her resolve must have cracked, because when he gently asked if there were any problems at home, her throat tightened and she choked out, “…Y-yeah.”

He nodded slowly and offered her a cup of water from the cooler in his office before pressing if she would like to elaborate, all while once again clarifying that she didn’t have to say anything she didn’t want to share. Max liked Mr. Hall, she noted as she took the paper Dixie cup from him and sipped from it a few times. It took her a few moments, but she finally managed to get out, “M-my mom’s…sick,” after a few tries. Then, after another sip of water, “…Cancer.”

He hummed sympathetically, and for a while, neither one of them said anything. Max wanted to cry, _had_ wanted to cry ever since she got the news from her father, but it was almost like she was somewhere in a state of disbelief, where she just felt hollow and empty inside, and when she thought about it too much, her hands started shaking and her chest got tight and she wanted to throw up. God, she just wanted to be in Seattle so bad, _she shouldn’t’ve still been in Arcadia, her mom needed her…_

_She needed her mom._

Finally, Mr. Hall spoke up again, offering the idea that maybe it would help to speak to others dealing with cancer in their lives, survivors and family members who had gone through the issue themselves. Perhaps it would make her feel less alone on the subject, and maybe even offer her some hope seeing those who managed to pull through. He knew of a sit in seminar and group sharing session that met once a weekend at the community center; Max wouldn’t even have to say anything, she could just stay a while and listen.

And that was what had led her to the Arcadia Bay Community Center on that Saturday morning. She hadn’t been completely sold on the idea at first, but with a gentle nudge from Mr. Hall and the solace she took in the fact she could leave at any time, she figured it was at least worth a shot.

The bus stop dropped her off on the wrong side of the building, meaning she had to cross the parking lot and then circle around to reach the front entrance. There was a sitting area right outside the front lobby that Max had to pass with a couple of benches and a public ashtray, apparently for those who came down to the community center to smoke. It was mostly empty this morning, save for one teenage loiterer who didn’t seem focused on anything really in particular. Max tried to just brush past wordlessly, keeping her head down and hoping they wouldn’t ask for any spare change or a light.

She had reached the door when she was stopped. “You here for the cancer seminar?”

Max froze with one hand on the door and turned her head to the question. The girl had all the makings of the kind of person Max’s parents had warned her about growing up: dyed hair, wearing too much black, and she was pretty sure she saw a tattoo poking out from underneath the sleeve of her leather jacket. Max shifted awkwardly to her other foot. “…Yeah. How’d you know?”

The girl shrugged loosely, replying with, “Why else would someone come to the community center this early on a Saturday?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a lighter, flicking it to life and letting the fire burn for a moment. Max flinched involuntarily; she had never understood the habit of smoking and personally found it kind of gross. Then, she took her thumb off of the fuel lever and the flame died, before continuing, “You know it’s a load of bullshit, right?”

Max felt the tips of her fingers go cold. “…Excuse me?”

“The seminar. It’s a load of shit.” The girl answered, her tone somewhere between completely disinterested and vaguely annoyed. “They talk a big game about how much they care about cancer patients, but when it comes down to it…” Instead of finishing, she snorted and shook her head. “Fuck ‘em. They only hear what they wanna.”

Max could’ve walked away. She probably should’ve, considering the situation. She should’ve just ignored this stranger and continued on her way. She wasn’t even the confrontational type. But, God, she felt the bile rising in her throat and heat in her face, and this was not why she came here. So she snapped, her hand leaving the door and turning on her heel, asking with what was probably a bit more force than necessary, “And just _who_ are you to say that?”

At first, the girl’s eyebrows shot up, not quite looking threatened, but at the very least, surprised. Then, a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and she pocketed her lighter, leaning forward like she was about to tell some awful secret, eyes half-lidded but eyebrows still cocked mischievously. She grinned, and like it was the most conversational topic in the world, she said, “I’m the cancer patient they kicked out because my story wasn’t what they wanted to hear.”

And just like that, all the fight and anger Max had in her drained away, replaced by a disgusting feeling in the pit of her stomach. _Holy shit, Max, you almost just started a fight with a girl with cancer. What’s next on your list, kicking a puppy? _She wanted to apologize, maybe make herself look like less of an asshole, but all she managed to fumble out was a quiet, awkward sounding, “…Oh.”

The girl gave a lazy smile and leaned back into the bench, chin tilted up slightly like some kind of challenge. Then, she held up her hand like she was trying to keep her quiet, despite the fact that Max wasn’t saying anything and didn’t even want to say anything after her glorious display of disrespect. “Alright, hang on a sec.” She fished around in her pocket for a moment, and Max expected her to pull out her lighter again, but instead she drew a crumpled up piece of paper. She started smoothing it out across her leg and without looking up, asked, “You got a pen on you?”

Max pulled a pen out of her shoulder bag, not even bothering to ask what she needed it for. The girl took it, and then scrawled something on the paper scrap, using her knee as a surface to write on. Then, she handed both the pen and the paper back to Max, allowing her to finally see what had been written: a phone number, with the name “Chloe” written above it in all caps.

“Call me or text me, if you wanna hear what stories cancer patients really wanna tell.” She – Max was assuming her name was Chloe – reached up and scratched the top of her head lazily, knocking her beanie slightly askew. Then she jerked a thumb towards the door. “You better get going if you still wanna catch that seminar.”

Max’s brow furrowed in confusion. “But you just said–”

“I know what I said.” Chloe cut her off, sprawling herself out like she owned the entire bench. She might as well have, because between her and her backpack next to her, there was absolutely no space for anyone else to sit with her. “I still stand by it, too.”

Max waited for her to elaborate, but she never did, so rather than press the subject, she only mumbled, “...Okay.”

She pushed open the door to the community center, and right before she stepped inside, Chloe stopped her one last time. “Name’s Chloe, by the way…if the name on the paper hadn’t tipped you off. Chloe Price.”

Max paused and nodded slowly, replying, “…It’s Max.”

Chloe’s eyes slipped shut and she tilted her head back. “Well, you best get going then, Max.” She didn’t say anything else past that point, and Max assumed that meant their conversation was now over. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, nervously gripping the strap of her bag out of habit. She trailed down the hall to the auditorium where the seminar was to be held, but she couldn’t help but notice that the slip of paper in her pocket felt strangely heavy.

…Giving Chloe a call later couldn’t really hurt, could it?


	2. Chapter 2

After the confrontation she had outside the community center, Max just couldn’t focus on the seminar speakers. She definitely tried – after all, that was the reason she came there in the first place – but every time she tuned in, her mind ended up drifting back to what that girl, Chloe had said. _Nothing but a load of shit, only hear what they want to…_

Max ended up leaving before the group session had even started.

When she got back outside, Chloe had disappeared, something that Max was actually kind of thankful for. She wasn’t in the mood for the, _I told you so_ , conversation that was bound to follow if she had been. But at the same time, Max also wanted some answers. Her hand slipped into her pocket and her fingers brushed lightly against the paper scrap.

She fought with the idea of calling Chloe on the entire bus ride back to school, the whole trek across campus, all the way up until she hit her dorm room. On one hand, she couldn’t get what Chloe had said when she handed over her number out of her mind. _Call me if you wanna hear what stories cancer patients really wanna tell_ , what did that even mean?

But then again, Chloe was just some random girl she had never even met before. What did her opinion of Max matter? In fact, how did she even know that Chloe actually _had_ cancer?

_Whoa, okay, Max. Calm down. Mentally accusing people of lying about cancer is taking it a little too far._ She collapsed back onto her bed, pressing her palms into her eyes until she saw spots. God, she just wanted to feel a little better, to come to terms with her mom–

Now a whole new wave of stress was washing over her and she pulled her stuffed teddy into her face, choking back a sob against the back of his head.

Max stayed like that for what was probably a while, but she wasn’t keeping track. Once she was finally able to pull herself back up, still digging her fingers into Captain’s fur, she let out a breath of air she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Then before she knew what she was doing, she pulled out the piece of paper she had been agonizing over and her phone.

Her first thought was to call Chloe, but after the breakdown she had just had, she really wasn’t sure if she was up for talking at all. As far as she knew, her voice probably sounded really hoarse and croaky, and she definitely wasn’t up to explaining that to a stranger. Instead, she opted for a text, only for her thumbs to hover over the keypad for a good few moments while she struggled to come up with something to say. Eventually, she forced herself to write _something_ , and ended coming up with, _hey its max, from the center this morning_.

Before she could start lamenting over how dumb and stilted that probably sounded, she hit the Send button and waited. She had been genuinely surprised when she received a reply so fast; she kind of expected Chloe to be busy, like with… _something._

_hey cool so u do just accept random strangers numbers off the street, good 2 kno  
whats up_

Max found herself at a loss of what to say, but now for a completely different reason. Chloe was the one who gave her number; Max had assumed it was because she had wanted to talk about something in particular, like tell those cancer patient stories that she been so keen on mentioning. She wanted to reply with just that, but stopped herself, figuring that saying that in so many words might come off the wrong way and she had already been enough of an asshole earlier.

So instead she stuck with, _i thought you wanted to talk?_

The wait for an answer this time was significantly longer, and Max had worried that her tone might have been too harsh or if maybe she sounded sarcastic by accident. She was halfway through thinking up a second, “defuse the situation” text when her phone buzzed.

_yeah ok  
i got a thing in 20 mins, but u wanna meet up 2morrow round noon_

Max was almost surprised at how simple that had been. Maybe it was just because she had been fighting with herself over calling all day, but she had expected some kind of confrontation. Then again, she barely even knew this Chloe girl; maybe Max was just being a jerk and making broad assumptions to her character.

She was forcefully dragged out of her thoughts when Chloe texted her again. _yo dude, u still there?_

_yeah, sorry, noon’s good, where at?,_ Max hastily replied. Chloe _had_ just said that she had something she had to do; wasting her time probably wasn’t the best idea, especially considering Max had made a horrible first impression that morning.

_wanna meet @ the center, keep it simple?_

Okay, the community center. Maybe if all went well, Max could change her mind’s association with it from, “The place where she bitched at a cancer patient” to, “The place where she and said cancer patient ended up actually having a pretty good talk.” _yeah, center works fine for me_

_coolio  
see u there, max_

* * *

 

For the fifth time in the past ten minutes, Max checked the conversation she had had with Chloe the day before. For the fifth time in the past ten minutes, Max confirmed that _yes_ , she had read the text right, Chloe had said noon. Yet, here Max was, sitting outside the front lobby of the community center, by herself, at _12:32 PM._

Apparently, her mind’s new association with the community center was going to be, “The place where the aforementioned cancer patient stood her up.”

Max was in the process of checking the time again and debating calling this whole thing off when she heard footsteps. She glanced up from her phone, half expecting to see just a random community center visitor or the old man handing out Jesus pamphlets on the corner that had already stopped by twice since she had gotten here. However, rounding the building was the same person who had called her here, _finally_.

Chloe grinned casually as she approached, her pace slow and lazy like she had nowhere she needed to be any time soon. Which Max might have believed, if she hadn’t already been waiting for over a half hour. “Hey, sorry I’m late. Lunch ran longer than I thought it would and then traffic was a bitch.” She removed the backpack slung over her shoulder – the same one from yesterday, Max noted – and took a seat next to her on the bench. “You mad?”

She probably should’ve been, but Max reminded herself that she was trying to make a good impression. She had already been a prick yesterday, and she didn’t want to have a repeat outburst, especially not on the same person. So she took in a deep breath, shook her head, and shrugged awkwardly. “No, no, it’s…it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Chloe nodded appreciatively, sitting her bag on the ground and situating it between her ankles. “Nice, thanks, dude.” Then she stretched her arms out wide and leaned back, with her left arm draping across the back of the bench and brushing against Max’s shoulders, and Max couldn’t help but notice it was just like the cheesy move that guys pulled in movie theaters when they were trying to hit on girls. She tried to squash the embarrassment from the thought. “So. Talking, then. How do you feel about 20 Questions?”

Max stared in blank confusion. “Wait...what? I’m sorry?”

“20 Questions. Y’know, I ask you a question about you, you ask me a question about me, and we go back and forth until we both hit twenty.” Chloe rolled her shoulders as she went on, “I figure it’ll be a good icebreaker; we didn’t really get the chance to talk after you blew up on me, and I blew your mind with the whole cancer thing.”

Max supposed Chloe had a point, but she didn’t come down here for 20 Questions. Then again, what was she supposed to say; ‘ _No, now let’s talk cancer_ ’? Instead, she just swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine.”

“One condition, though.” Chloe suddenly added with a sort of mock seriousness. “No cancer questions until both of our twenty questions are over. And that goes for the both of us.” She held her hand out towards Max. “Deal?”

Now Max was really confused, wasn’t talking about cancer the whole reason either of them were here? The whole reason Chloe had handed out her number in the first place? But, at the same time…Chloe had specified that it went ‘ _for the both of them_ ’. Meaning that Chloe, by her own rules, wouldn’t be allowed to ask why Max was at a cancer seminar in the first place. Max wouldn’t be forced into talking about her mom.

Maybe she could just have a normal conversation where it wouldn’t be eating at the back of her mind for once.

“Deal.” Max took Chloe’s hand and shook.

Chloe’s grip was stronger than Max had expected, and her handshake was firm despite how lazy she made it look. “Alright, it’s agreed! I’ll start us off, let’s see…” She paused and took a breath, letting it out as she continued, “Okay, just to make it fair, since you know already mine…last name?”

“Caulfield.” Max replied. “My name is Max Caulfield.”

Chloe nodded. “Ah, like the kid from _Catcher in the Rye_!”

“You’ve read _Catcher in the Rye_?” Max questioned, partially surprised, but also partially impressed. She wouldn’t say _Catcher in the Rye_ was her favorite book of all time, but she at least enjoyed it more than most kids her age when she had to read it in her freshman American Lit class.

Chloe snorted in response. “Okay, I know I don’t look like the most cultured individual around,” – she made a gesture to her leather jacket and skull print T-shirt – “but yeah, I’ve read _Catcher in the Rye._ ” Max faltered a little at that; she hadn’t meant it like _that_. At least Chloe didn’t seem too offended; she was still smiling, albeit sarcastically. “Weird first choice of a question, though, I gotta say.”

“Oh, no, that wasn’t–” Max shook her head and tried to explain, but was silenced when Chloe wagged her finger tauntingly.

“Ah, ah. You asked a question, I answered it. Those are the rules; we’re both one for one. My turn.” Max huffed, but tried not to seem too obviously annoyed. Chloe clicked her tongue in thought a few times before asking, “Alright, what’s your favorite movie?”

Max actually had to stop to think about that one, chewing at the inside of her cheek. After going down a mental top ten list, she settled with, “Probably…Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.”

As soon as she did, Chloe responded by trying to stifle a laugh and failing spectacularly. “Holy _shit_ , dude, I think that might be the first time anyone’s ever said that seriously!” It took her some time, but Chloe eventually managed to settle herself, chuckles dissolving into light coughing. Max expected this much – it was the same reaction she got from everyone, more or less – and she waited for Chloe to finally catch her breath.

“Okay, _what_ do you think is so wrong with that movie?” Max finally asked when she was sure that Chloe was done. One might think she had gotten used to this response after a while, but it never failed; every time, she wound up with her arms crossed, sunken into her seat, and pouting like a child that had just been told, _no_ , you can’t have your ice cream until you finish your peas.

Chloe just seemed amused at the question, cracking a lopsided smile. “If I answer that one, we might be here all day, but…I’ll give it a shot.” She raised her arms above her head and cracked her knuckles dramatically before starting, “First off, it’s boring as hell. Trying to stay awake during that thing is like an Olympic endurance test. Second, the characters aren’t interesting; I don’t even remember the main character’s name, like…what, wasn’t it Amy or something?”

“Aki.” Max interjected plainly. “Her name was Aki Ross.”

“See, I would never have remembered that! Because I didn’t care enough _to_ remember it!” Chloe flopped back, pausing in tearing Max’s favorite movie to shreds, and Max was just hopeful enough to believe that she was finished. But then she continued, a little quieter this time, “Plus, it’s not even bad in the way you can make fun of it. I mean, Snakes on a Plane was bad, but in a good way. Sharknado, same thing. But Final Fantasy: Spirits Within?” She let out a heavy breath. “Just _bad_.”

“Wow.” Max’s tone was flat, but she couldn’t find it in her to be all that angry. To be fair, Chloe hadn’t said anything Max hadn’t already heard. At least she had the decency to stick to insulting the movie, rather than turn the venom on Max, which was more than she could say for some angry geek boys she had met before. “Thanks for…totally ripping my favorite movie apart. I appreciate it.”

Chloe’s head lolled to give her a sideways look, somehow managing a smile that was both apologetic and shit-eating. “Hey, sorry, man. You asked. Speaking of asking…” She raised two fingers on her right hand. “We are now two for two. You’re making this real easy for me, Max.”

Max had almost forgotten about their little game. “Wait – hey, come on, that was just a–”

“That was just a _question_.” Chloe interrupted pointedly, her smile now losing the apologetic factor and moving wholly into shit eater territory. “That I _answered._ And the name of the game is 20 _Questions_ , so…my turn. What is your…” she paused, either thinking of a question or just dragging it out for dramatic effect, “favorite color?”

Max took significantly shorter to answer this time. “You know that pastel pink-orange color the sky turns at sunrise? That one.” Then, without even thinking, she continued, “Are all of your questions going to be this generic?” A silence settled between them. At first, Max wasn’t quite sure why. She had only just asked a question. Then, Chloe face went from a shit-eating smile to a full blown grin. Realization dawned on her.

_She had just asked a question_.

A protest was already forming on the tip of Max’s tongue when Chloe answered, louder than was most likely necessary, “Yeah, to be honest, probably! Three for three, Max! Man, you are _really_ bad at this game.” Max couldn’t even get mad at that one, after she stupidly walked right into it. “Okay, favorite hobby?”

“Photography.” Max found herself answering damn near automatically. “Definitely photography.”

Chloe’s grin died down and her eyebrows shot up. “Photography.” She repeated, almost appreciatively, and she gazed at the sidewalk like she was in thought. Then, she bobbed her head slowly, like the fact that Max was into photography had finally caught up in her mind. “Wow…really?”

Max’s eyes lit up and she answered, maybe a little too fast, maybe a little too eagerly, “Yeah, _really_. I _really_ like photography. So four for four, now, then.”

Chloe blinked at Max and opened her mouth, but no words came. Then her brow furrowed and cast her eyes downward, still gaping. Finally, the corners of her lips twitched upwards and she gave a breathy chuckle. “Alright. Yeah, okay.” She shook her head and threw her hands up in a show of defeat, and Max felt strangely _proud_ for such a small achievement. “You got me. Four for four. Ask away, Caulfield, you earned it.”

“Okay, um…” Max didn’t want to just end up parroting one of the questions that had already been asked, so instead she went with, “When’s your birthday?”

Chloe rolled her eyes, still smiling. “Man, and you say _my_ questions are generic…but it’s actually next month, March 11th. Turning nineteen this year.” She looked particularly proud of that fact, like turning nineteen was a new record. Although, technically, Max supposed it actually was. “What about you? When’s your birthday?”

They ended up going back and forth like that for awhile. Neither of their questions ventured much deeper than what Max had originally deemed “generic,” but on second thought, it turned out she didn’t really mind. Chloe had a way making them fun despite the fact with her personal brand of playful snark and friendly banter.

“Alright, alright, my turn.” Max said, cheeks hurting from smiling so much. “What’s _your_ favorite color?”

Chloe snorted and pushed back her beanie, taking one of her bangs in-between her thumb and index finger. “Well, I kinda thought that I made that one pretty obvious.” She rolled the strands of dyed hair between her fingers. “But yeah, definitely blue.” Her hand dropped and she readjusted her hat before continuing, “And that…makes us both twenty for twenty. You know what that means, Max. Cancer questions are now on the table.” Chloe gestured vaguely at the air and placed her hands behind her head. “Fire away.”

Max’s face suddenly fell. She had lost track of their question count a while back, and had almost forgotten entirely that this was all part of a game in the first place. She hadn’t even realized that Chloe was still keeping count, but then again, _one_ of them had to be, right?

Max would’ve been lying if she said that she hadn’t been enjoying their entirely cancer-free conversation. For the first time in what felt like forever, she’d been able to push those thoughts away and just…talk, without it looming over her like some kind of cartoon rain cloud of gloom. She had really liked that. So instead, she shrugged and muttered, “No, no…I mean, we don’t have to. Besides, you did kind of cheat me out of my first few questions.”

Chloe’s eyebrows shot up like she was genuinely surprised, and she didn’t say anything at first. Then, slowly, she smiled and laughed, replying simply, “…Okay.” She nodded, mostly to herself, it seemed, and Max noted that she almost looked pretty pleased with Max’s decision. “Yeah, I mean…whatever floats your boat, sure.”

Max ended up learning that Chloe’s favorite season was summer, that she’d only ever had a cat when she was a kid, but always wanted a dog, and that if she could be any animal in the world, she would want to be a falcon. The topic of cancer didn’t come up once in conversation, at least not voluntarily. Not until it forced itself back into mind.

They had been talking about how Max went to Blackwell, which Chloe had been fairly impressed with – her direct quote had been, “Wow, fancy rich kid school! Didn’t know I was talking to Arcadia’s best and brightest.” Max had playfully shoved her shoulder and then innocently asked where Chloe went to school then.

Chloe got quiet, rubbed at the back of her neck, and then shrugged noncommittally while shaking her head. “Nah, I, uh…” she finally answered after staying silent for a moment, “I dropped out my junior year of high school. After…” Then she stopped again, thinking over exactly what she wanted to say. Max was debating whether or not to cut in, to say it was fine and that she shouldn’t have asked, when Chloe continued, a little louder and more confident this time. “After I got sick, I lost basically an entire year of school, and…fuck, man, I really just didn’t want to go back after that.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, and all the good feelings that Max had been feeling before evaporated. They stayed like that for a while – Max wasn’t sure of how long. She felt like she should’ve said something, but her throat felt tight and what was she _supposed_ to say, really? Knowing her, she would’ve probably spouted something equal parts lame and insensitive like, _Oh. That sucks_ , or, _Gee, tough break_.

Finally, Chloe forced a fake cough and stammered, “Listen, hey, I – I’m sorry, for…killing the conversation and making this all awkward. I probably should’ve just said that I dropped out and…left it at that.” She sat forward, hunched over her lap with her elbows resting on her knees. She was refusing to make eye contact now, glaring at the pavement. “…My bad.”

“No, no, it’s not…” Max started speaking before she even knew what she wanted to say, and then the words died on her tongue. Part of her wanted to just leave it at that, to stop before she ended up saying something to make the situation even worse, but she knew that wouldn’t be fair. “…I asked the question.” She eventually settled on. “It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize.”

Chloe didn’t answer, but her eyes did seem softer and she was no longer trying to burn a hole in the ground with her non-existent laser vision. Max chewed her lip, wondering if it was a good idea to press her luck. She had been trying to avoid the topic, yes, but now that it was right in front of her, she figured there was no point in trying to dance around it. Besides, that had been the entire point this whole time, right? Maybe Max was just trying to justify satiating the curiosity that was gnawing at her. Carefully, testing her boundaries without wanting to overstep, she asked, “What, um…what type is it?”

At first, she wasn’t sure if Chloe had heard the question; it took her a while to respond and when she did, she blinked at Max slowly like she had zoned out. Then, she cleared her throat and ran her tongue along her bottom lip. “…It, uh…isn’t anything. Not anymore. Sorry if I made it sound like, like I was still sick, but…” She inhaled deeply, shoulders rising and holding it for a few seconds, like she wasn’t sure how to explain. “I’ve been officially off treatment and clean for about four months now,” she finally said on her exhale.

“Oh.” Max suddenly found playing with the hem of her T-shirt very interesting. “That’s good.”

“It _was_ lung cancer, though.” Chloe continued, before adding, “Started as Stage II, before progressing to Stage III. Ended up needing my entire left lung removed, that’s how bad it spread. The doctors said I was lucky, y’know, that it hadn’t spread to both? But, uh…” She laughed humorlessly. “It’s really fucking hard to feel lucky when you’re seventeen years old and getting a lung cut out, you know?”

“Holy shit…” Max breathed, and she really couldn’t think of anything else to say. What was appropriate? Was she supposed to apologize, or maybe reaffirm how horrible it must have been? Somehow, every option she thought of just didn’t seem right, and Max felt like she had screwed up enough as is.

“Hey, do you wanna grab some food?” Chloe asked abruptly and a little quickly.

“W-wait, what?” Max stuttered, flustered not only from being broken out of her thoughts, but also at the suddenness of the question. Also… “Didn’t…didn’t you say when you first got here that you already ate lunch?”

Chloe actually looked a little embarrassed as she shrugged Max’s comment off. “Yeah, but…I don’t wanna end all this off on a sour note and being all depressing and shit. Besides, I mean, I’m not gonna say no to more food, are you kidding me?” She paused before jerking her thumb over her shoulder towards the road. “I know this place that serves breakfast all day, and breakfast always tastes better when it’s not breakfast time, right? I can even get us a discount.”

Max was still a little thrown off by the sudden shift, but at the same time, she _had_ pushed off lunch just to make sure she wasn’t going to be late getting to the center. Breakfast was sounding pretty good right about now, and at a discount too? “Yeah, okay. Sure, sounds great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be delving more into the cancer details later, guys, so if you don't necessarily know specifics about lung cancer treatment or what Stage II or Stage III mean, we'll get there, but I'm not gonna do an entire info-dump on you. It doesn't read well in terms of story or plot, but trust me, we'll get there.


End file.
